


Get Well Soon

by HomesickAlien



Category: Dragon Quest XI
Genre: M/M, cat cuddles cat cuddles cat cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25373239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomesickAlien/pseuds/HomesickAlien
Summary: A distraction in Gallopolis.
Relationships: Camus | Erik/Hero | Luminary (Dragon Quest XI)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	Get Well Soon

**Author's Note:**

> Today’s hero/erik one draw theme was simply “Gallopolis,” and for me who is feeling a bit under the weather that means an excuse to write cat cuddles.  
> Following the Rules even though it’s late I did set a one hour timer to write this so it’s short!! Sorry!

The Hero seems more endeared to them than any of the townsfolk they’ve talked to.

He’d have expected the girls to be the ones infatuated by a hall of cute little kittens, but he can’t say it’s out of character for Eleven, either. He’s pretty fearless when it comes to them— Horses, deer, cows, dogs, pretty much any animal inbetween, while everyone else is already a mile ahead of him he’s without a care in the world. Right now, this must be Heaven for him. 

“Hey,” Erik leans over the Hero, laying on his side on the floor. “Shouldn’t we be getting on with this meeting the Sultan and all? They’ll kick us out if we let the sun set.”

 _Mmhmm,_ the Hero hums, but that’s his only response. 

There must be a dozen of them, all acting on their own accord, yet never straying far from the Hero’s warmth. In such a dreadful heat, Erik would also prefer to rest on the cool tile all day instead of committing to _saving the day_ as they always do. Maybe it’s his instinct, kneeling down to be more level with the Hero. It’s easy to blame the heat— the heat of the afternoon sun, or the heat of the moment, either or. 

The cats must be even worse off than them, some of them are way too fluffy, he thinks. Especially the one that seems quite keen on jumping into Erik’s lap as soon as the opportunity arises. The stray ties of his shirt make for great entertainment, almost a nuisance, with stray claws barely grazing his skin as the cat bats at them. 

He can’t really tell, looking over the Hero, if Eleven’s gaze of jealousy is for the cat Erik stole from him, or the Erik that the cat’s stole from him. 

He supposes it doesn’t matter, he’s the one getting punished either way. The Hero is always a strange one when it comes to these things, brushing Erik’s nose with the cattail, it’s a cute gesture until the fluff-monster reaches their claws for it.

“ _Ow—_ Hey, that wasn’t very nice.”

Erik says, holding up the cat by the pits. It doesn’t take any effort at all to wriggle out his arms, jumping unpleasantly off his head, and in that regard it does remind him a lot of the Hero. Awkward, but nimble, and always finding trouble for Erik to have to fix. Without thinking, he pets the Hero’s head, leaning back against him. 

“I don’t think they’ll be much help on our journey. You should probably give it up now.”

Erik presses a finger roughly to the Hero’s chest, which squirms rather inhumanly in response; “You’re not very clever.”

“She’s the cutest one. Cuter than you. Look.”

Erik kindly ignores the second half of that comment, despite his warm-due-to-the-heat face, as the Hero undoes the buttons of his tunic. The small, curious face that bursts from his chest seems to still be quite new to the world. She turns her head in a dozen directions without much rhyme or reason to it, until she meets Erik’s face, and touches her nose to his own. The cat sniffles to take in his scent, seemingly pleased enough to rub her own furry scent against him. He seriously wants to sneeze after all this, but he refrains.

“See, she likes you, too.”

Erik grimaces a little, pulling back his face. He’s definitely not weak to cute things at all, but people he’s endeared to, that’s another story. Of course, he can’t let himself fall to his weakness again, least of all on his _journey for redemption._ Being too soft hasn’t done him any favors, he replays the vivid memory of his failures time and time again. 

That’s right, he can’t falter any… _Ah, the cat’s already gone away._

Off to find something more exciting to entertain with, he imagines. He hadn’t expected the replacement to be an equally precious face. One that’s unpleasantly too close for comfort, he can feel the Hero’s breath feather over his skin. He doesn’t really know what he’s expecting, receding into himself, but it’s certainly not the delicate touch of the Hero’s to Erik’s cheek.

“They seem pretty strong to me.” 

That’s right. One of them had scratched his face, after all. It’s probably a waste of magic, but the warm sensation of the Hero’s immature healing spell does perk him up a little bit. He can’t help smiling softly at the tingling sensation. The Hero’s face is just as warm. 

Even though it seems like all they do is deal with stranger’s troubles, the Hero’s face hasn’t changed a bit since they’d escaped through the door that while back. It could just be the exhilaration of the journey, or maybe it’s just his natural disposition, the face of one who’s seen so little of the world yet always wants in his heart to help. Surely, it would tire anyone out after a long time of carrying everyone’s worries on his back, but he’d like to preserve this kind face of his eternally. 

It’s probably just a bit of wishful thinking. Just as it seems the climactic moment of their yearning might come, a loud, rather crude girl arrives to spoil the moment. Her staff swings at Erik, then at the Hero; It’s not even the slightest bit roughly, just enough to grab their attention. 

“Just how long do you two plan to laze about? Did you forget what we’d come here for, or what?”

Always keeping them on track, really, where would they be without Veronica? Although they both groan, she’s not wrong, in fact she’s done a hell of a lot better than Erik’s done in the past hour or so to get them moving forward. 

A total waste of time. But not one he’ll be forgetting anytime soon. In fact, he wouldn’t mind wasting time more often like that, but maybe it ought to be saved for after all this _Luminary destiny_ what-not is taken care of. 

Maybe, if they settle down sometime, they can ask the prince about taking that _cuter than Erik_ cat.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, comment, stay safe and be kind.
> 
> I am committed to Erik for sure, but perhaps the only moment I ever faltered was when Faris does that look over the Hero, and I was seriously on the edge of my seat for him to ask the Hero out on a date lol In Another Life!


End file.
